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In 2021, J.J. Razmovski’s world flipped upside down.

The quarterback had earned SUNY Cortland head coach Curt Fitzpatrick and his teammates’ admiration while performing well throughout his freshman season. But toward the end of Cortland’s 2021 season, Razmovski took a big hit. It resulted in a severe concussion, and his body weight was cut in half as he lost 100 pounds while recovering.

Razmovski had never missed a practice in his entire football career before suffering the concussion. He hasn’t played since.

“I lost pretty much all of my body mass, and I was bedridden for about a month,” Razmovski said. “I couldn’t really talk, use the phone, or watch TV or anything like that. It was just kind of pitch dark for a month, so that was difficult.”

While Razmovski can no longer physically play football, he found a new way to stay involved with the sport through coaching. Razmovski has coached at his alma mater, Cicero-North Syracuse, since 2022. Additionally, he helped create Syracuse Elite 7-on-7 later that year, hoping to help CNS players gain more exposure to college recruiters.

Razmovski shined at CNS, where he had to wait until his junior year to become the full-time starting quarterback. In his first year as a starter, Razmovski earned second-team All-CNY honors and helped his team win the 2019 Section 3 Championship. He then earned First-Team All-CNY honors while winning another Section 3 Championship as a senior.

That success put him on the radar of college coaches and scouts, eventually choosing Cortland. Though Razmovski’s injury caused his career to end abruptly. He initially struggled to adjust without football and didn’t know what his next steps were.

“I was in a dark place for a couple of months, just because I’ve never lived without playing football,” Razmovski said. “It was just different to adjust to not working out, not playing all the time.”

Razmovski started playing Pop Warner when he was 5 years old because his uncle was the president of the league, but he described the experience as “brutal.”

“I think it’s what eventually made me the player I was and the coach I can be today because of how much (my uncle and father) pushed me to be different than everybody else around here,” Razmovski said.

Despite his initial reservations, the extra push from his uncle and dad motivated him, and his love for the game started to grow. It was the first thing Fitzpatrick noticed when recruiting Razmovski, he said.

That love was quickly drained from Razmovski when he tried recovering from his injury. He quickly decided that continuing to play wasn’t worth the extra toll on his body.

He eventually found his footing back at CNS. Razmovski’s brother, Jaxon, who is three years younger than him, was playing football for the North Stars. Eventually, CNS head coach James Ryan contacted Razmovski about an opening as a wide receivers coach.

Eager for a chance to return to football, Razmovski immediately accepted. The job allowed him to return to his passion while ensuring his health, something he couldn’t do while playing.

Razmovski spent time working with Jaxon, doing extra training sessions with him. It wasn’t long before Jaxon’s friends on the team asked him to help them as well.

“If he decides to stay with coaching, I think he’ll have a bright future,” Ryan said. “He’s constantly around the game, constantly working with kids.”

Razmovski’s work with his brother and his teammates led to the formation of Syracuse Elite 7-on-7. Razmovski said New York is one of the least recruited states for Division-I football, and while his team won’t single-handedly change that narrative, they’ve succeeded against high-level competition.

In April, Next Level Greats, a program numerous current Syracuse players have played for, including LeQuint Allen Jr., hosted a tournament in New Jersey. The tournament featured top-level competition from around the country, but Razmovski’s team won the 12U and the 18U divisions.

Since being founded in 2022, Syracuse Elite 7-on-7 has taken off. The program started with just 12 players and one team, mostly comprised of Razmovski’s brother and his friends. Last year, it expanded to over 60 players across four teams. Razmovski expects the program will soon balloon to 100 players.

“I’m bringing some guys on board hopefully to help me because these past two seasons it’s been just me doing it,” Razmovski said. “Hopefully, we can grow in the coaching department as well and the people that will help and volunteer. I just hope that the 7-on-7 thing just keeps taking off and keeps growing.”

Razmovski also has a busy schedule due to his commitment to the travel team, along with his job at CNS and his still being a full-time college student. After trying to make it work for a semester, the travel issues led him to transfer from Cortland.

He’s begun to take online classes at Onondaga Community College, hoping to finish most of his credits before returning to Cortland to earn an online degree. After graduating, Razmovski wants to eventually coach college football. But for now, he’s proud of how far he’s come.

“I wouldn’t really want it any other way,” Razmovski said. “My whole life is wrapped around football, and that’s pretty much the only thing I love to do. So for me, it’s almost like a dream. I’m 21 and only have to deal with football pretty much all day, every day.”

Published on September 25, 2024 at 11:59 pm

Contact Henry: hdaley@syr.edu